1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to binary deoxyribozyme probes for nucleic acid analysis.
2. Description of the Related Art
The growing importance of sensitive and selective determination of nucleic acids is associated with detection of viruses, microorganisms, and genetic traits that are not only of clinical significance, but also of environmental, defense, veterinary and agricultural importance. Simple and sensitive sequence-specific methods of nucleic acid analysis are needed, for example, for the rapid diagnosis of infection and genetic diseases, genome study, mRNA monitoring in living cells, and for environmental forensic applications. Most of these methods require PCR amplification of the genetic material prior to its analysis. While PCR represents the ultimate in terms of sensitivity, it has significant drawbacks including complexity, sensitivity to contamination, cost, lack of portability, and major challenges with respect to multiplexing. Therefore there is still a need for new straightforward, inexpensive, highly selective and highly sensitive methods for nucleic acid analysis.